1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a heat exchanger, and more specifically relates to a heat exchanger which is required to be installed in a small limited space such as a condenser used in an air conditioner for vehicles.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A conventional heat exchanger for use as a condenser in an automobile is constructed, for example, as shown in FIGS. 15 and 16. The heat exchanger has a pair of header pipes 1 and 2 extending in parallel relation with each other, and a plurality of flat heat-transfer tubes 3 disposed between the header pipes in parallel relation with one another and connected to the header pipes at their end portions. A plurality of radiation fins 4 are provided between flat heat-transfer tubes 3 to accelerate the radiation from the flat heat-transfer tubes. An inlet tube 5 is connected to the end portion of header pipe 1 for introducing a cooling medium into the heat exchanger and an outlet tube 6 is connected to the end portion of header pipe 2 for delivering the condensed cooling medium from the heat exchanger to other equipment.
The insides of header pipes 1 and 2 are divided into a plurality of spaces in their axial directions by partitions 7 and 8, respectively. The cooling medium introduced through inlet tube 5 flows in a serpentine passage through header pipes 1 and 2 and flat heat-transfer tubes 3 until the heat exchanged and condensed cooling medium flows out from outlet tube 6. The cross-sectional areas of the upstream portion and the downstream portion in the serpentine passage can be easily adjusted by repositioning partitions 7 and 8. In the heat exchanger shown in FIG. 16, partitions 7 and 8 are positioned so that the cooling medium flows through relatively many flat heat-transfer tubes 3 in its upstream portion and through relatively few flat heat-transfer tubes 3 in its downstream portion.
Such a heat exchanger can be used for a condenser of an air conditioner for an automobile. The space in an automobile for the installation of a condenser is usually limited to various shapes other than a rectangle. On the other hand, the front shape of the heat exchanger shown in FIGS. 15 and 16 is a rectangle. Therefore, if this heat exchanger is used as a condenser of an air conditioner for an automobile, a relatively large vacant space or spaces are formed around the heat exchanger. This vacant space does not contribute to the heat exchange of the heat exchanger and is not useful for increasing the effectiveness of the heat exchanger at all. Namely, the air flowable area of the heat exchanger for its heat exchange is reduced by the area of the vacant space.